We Have Memories
by UDFlyers
Summary: Sequel to A Place Called Heaven Peeta's assassination didn't just affect Katniss, it hurt their son, Dyllan, as well who is expecting a child.


My fingers clench as my eyes narrow at the letter in front of me. I read it quickly and anger boils up in me. I stomp out of the house, ignoring the calls of my pregnant wife and go straight to my sister's house. Her three years old daughter is there, 'Dylly!' she calls but I ignore her, I go straight to her. She's in her bedroom when I go to the entrance "Did you get this letter?" I ask, trying to keep my voice down for Lilly's sake. Andi turns around and takes the crumpled letter from me. She scans it and rereads it; she then burns it in the fire that is lighting up the room. "How could they let this happen! They were supposed to protect them, keep them safe!" she screams with red eyes and tears running down her face. Her brown hair only half brushed and her usually blue eyes going dark. We stand there for a second, just looking at each other waiting to wake up. But when we don't reality sinks in,

Our father is dead.

My world crashes around me, it's like I can see the walls tumbling. My dad was the only person who understood what it was like to have your heart broken then with one miracle it came together again. He's the one who taught me to bake, the one thing I really enjoy doing. He taught me how to love, patience, to forgive and be strong.

He taught me how to be me.

I see my sister close her eyes and make a list, something our parents taught us to do when we were younger. I start mine, _I'm Dylan Finnick Mellark. I'm 20 years old. I live in the victor's village in Haymitch's old house with my wife and soon to be child. I have a mother, sister, and niece. My father is dead… my father is dead…_

Andi must've thought the same thing because soon enough she's in my arms bawling her eyes out. I feel a few tears fall down my cheeks before Alex, Andi's husband of two weeks, comes in to see us. He looks sympathetically at us and asks if we know. "Did a letter come?" I ask in a hoarse voice. "It was on Panem news, it showed him get shot. He did it to protect Katniss you know." Yes, I know. He loves my mother so much I only figured that's how it went being as she's the Mockingjay and all. I admire him for it, but did he need to die?

"Well, at least we know he's in a better place." My wife, Tanya, is trying to comfort me on what happened. I know she's just trying to help, but it just irritates me more. "Assassinated. He was assassinated and you think he's just ok?" I can't help but feel a little hurt by her comment, although she didn't mean to. I sighed and looked at her with a softer tone, "I visited mom a couple days ago. She's not eating, judging by how she looks I think she lost 27 pounds over these two months. I don't even know if she gets out of bed. Really I feel bad for her; with all she's gone through she was afraid of falling in love and having children for this purpose. Now I think she's been damaged beyond repair, there's nothing Andi or I can do to help her, she's just too stubborn." She laughs a little at the last part, but I'm not kidding. She's always been that way, she would never show weakness and I don't think I've ever seen her cry. Not even in the last 2 months. There was only one person who could make her talk and, well end of story.

Tanya snaps her fingers and says, "I know what'll cheer you up! Why don't we talk about baby names?" She has a special glint in her beautiful, hazel eyes when she says that and I smile. "Okay." We both sit down at the table and get a notepad out. "So I was thinking for a girl Mayana, after my mother," I nod and put it on the list for a girl. "or Andrea after your sister, just because I really like her." I added Andrea. We added a couple more names that she liked but really none of the names stuck out to me besides Andrea and Katniss, and that was because they were of my family. "Ok and now for boy names!" she says when we have 20 names on the list. If it was up to me, I would just name her Andrea Mayana-Katniss Mellark if it was a girl, I like that name. She added Toby and Xavier, names I didn't really like. "Oh! What about Gale, after my dad?" I put that on the list. When we reached 20, none of the names she put stuck out. Then it hit me, I had the perfect name for a boy. "T, what about Peeta Gale Mellark? That way it's both of our parents and we can use that." She winced and said "Why Peeta Gale? Why not Gale Peeta Mellark, my dad died first." To not start one of her mood swings, I compromised. "Well, let's wait and if it is a boy, we'll see who he looks more like and we'll name him that. Okay?" She smiled and nodded. "So how about for a girl Abbi Mayana Mellark, or Andrea Tiffany Mellark, or, I don't know." I put down the notepad and ran my hand through my blonde hair; she was making this so hard! "Andrea Mayana-Katniss Mellark I thought was pretty." She smiled and nodded.

With that out of the way, I decided to go visit mom for a while. "Mom, its Dyllan. I came to see you for a while." Silence. There isn't a sound in the house at the moment, usually you hear something. "Mom?" She doesn't respond. She always responds, this gets me even more worried. I run upstairs to her bedroom and see what I never thought I would, my mother is passed out on the ground.

Dead.

At first I don't believe it, who would, so I go to check her pulse and breathing. There's nothing and my fears come true. I run out of the house to Andi's and just walk in, who bothers using doorbells anymore? Alex is sitting with Lilly watching some show when I come in. "Alex! I need your help, please!" He looks at me curiously then nods. I drag him out of his seat and take him to my mother's house. When we get there, he looks at Mom and shakes his head, tears welling up in his eyes. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Lilly and her chubby little legs walking towards her.  
_Shit!  
_"Gramma? Gramma it's , Lilly. Remember me, papa and I made pictures for you. Pease wake up." She laid down next to her and played with her hair. Being the bad guy I am, I picked her up and took her out of the room while Alex observed her. "No! Gramma he can't take me away from you. I love you! Gramma!" She started throwing a tantrum so I took her where her mother's old bedroom was. I put her down on the bed and looked at her. "Lillian, you need to stop right now. This is not the time for you to throw this fit. Lillian!" She wouldn't stop, she kept sobbing and squirming. "I wanna see Gramma! I wanna see Gramma!" She wouldn't stop moving or crying.  
"YOU CAN'T SEE HER! SHE'S DEAD, SHE WILL NEVER TALK AGAIN. SO IS DAD, HE DIED TOO!" If it was possible to see a heart break, I did in her eyes. I started to tear up for many reasons; mom, dad, my child, Lilly, Andi, everything I was so familiar with is gone. I felt Lilly's little arms around me as I sank to the floor and cried. "It's ok uncwl Dylly. They in better place and they love each other. They gonna be alright." I smiled at her confidence in what she was saying. "I gonna go see daddy now." She said and skipped off. I smiled and laid down in her bed. I must've dozed off because the next thing I see is something I've wanted to for the last two months.

It's a memory of when I worked at the bakery with Andi and my parents. I was 16 while Andi was only around 19. I was waiting on Andi to pound on my door, something she does on the weekends to annoy me. As expected she starts pounding on my door and shouting, "Come on you lazy bum! Get your butt up or else-"I cut her off by opening the door, "race you to the counter!" And we started running toward the bakery in the town. Of course she beats me; she always has and I don't think that will ever change. She starts doing her victory dance when dad comes up behind her and places a hand on her shoulder, "Ani, please don't use your mother's dancing skills right now, we have costumers." He says followed by a smack on the head from mom. "I'm not that bad. Right Dyl?" I just smile, "love you mom, but Tessa's here." I walk past her and earn a high-five from Dad. I look over my shoulder to see dad give her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. She smiled while she turned around and kissed him. Jokingly, I give my dad a goofy smile and two thumbs up when he looks over while he motions me out the door.

When I wake up I have a good feeling in me but Tessa and Andi are looking at me worriedly. I look at them and ask about mom. "Well, she took the Nightlock pill and. Well…" I just nod. I look at Tessa, "Please T, Peeta Gale-Vick Mellark. I think that should be the name of our child. We have two names from your family and two from mine." She nods with tears in her eyes. "Andrea Mayana-Katniss Mellark and Peeta Gale-Vick Mellark. Perfect." Andi looks at me and smiles, "Well, we just need to pass on the memories we have I guess." I stand up and look at her, "Race you to the counter!" and we start running, all the way to the bakery in the town like old times. She beats me, as usual, and I know somehow mom and dad are still here. My child and future children won't grow up without grandparents,

We have memories.


End file.
